Unit 3.docx

1、Unit 3Unit 3Equivalence at word level内容提要：1 translation problems arising from lack of equivalence at word level2 various strategies which can be used for dealing with them学习目的：By learning translation problems arising from lack of equivalence at word level, the students learn the specific types of no

2、n-equivalence and the various strategies which can be used for dealing with them.重 点：various strategies which can be used for dealing with non-equivalence at word level难 点：various strategies which can be used for dealing with non-equivalence at word level教学内容：This Unit discusses translation problems

3、 arising from lack of equivalence at word level; what does a translator do when there is no word in the target language which expresses the same meaning as the source language word? THE PROBLEM OF NON-EQUIVALENCEWe can now begin to outline some of the more common types of non-equivalence which often

4、 pose difficulties for the translator and some attested strategies for dealing with them. First, a word of warning. The choice of a suitable equivalent in a given context depends on a wide variety of factors. Some of these factors may be strictly linguistic. Other factors may he extra-linguistic. It

5、 is virtually impossible to offer absolute guidelines for dealing with the various types of nonequivalence which exist among languages. The most that can be done in this Unit is to suggest strategies which may be used to deal with non-equivalence in some contexts. The choice of a suitable equivalent

6、 will always depend not only on the linguistic system or systems being handled by the translator, but also on the way both the writer of the source text and the producer of the target text, i.e. the translator, choose to manipulate the linguistic systems in question.Non-equivalence at word level and

7、 some common strategies for dealing with itNon-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text. The type and level of difficulty posed can vary tremendously depending on the nature of non-equivalence. Different kinds of non

8、-equivalence require different strategies, some very straightforward, others more involved and difficult to handle. English and Chinese are of great difference because they belong to different language families and have completely different cultures. There are a lot of translation problems arising f

9、rom lack of equivalence at word level. Non-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text.3.1 Common problems of non-equivalence at word level3.1.1 Culture-specific concepts （文化特色词汇）The source-language word may express a c

10、oncept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete; it may relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food. Such concepts are often referred to as culture-specific. Example 1: 狗English people love dogs very much. For them,

11、 dogs are mans best friends, so they keep them as pets and take good care of them, and even use the word dog to describe peoples life. A lucky dog refers to a person who is lucky, while top dog refer to a person who is very important. However, traditionally, Chinese people dont have the same feeling

12、 to dogs, and they often set dogs against other people, such as 狗腿子(a dogs leg) meaning a bad person following his or her bad superior and 狗血喷头(to pour the dogs blood to somebodys head) meaning to pour out a flood of invective against somebody. Therefore, when doing translation, we should avoid usin

13、g the word dog directly, or to use the super-ordinate of the word dog. For example, 狗嘴里长不出象牙(ivory cant grow in a dogs mouth) can be translated as a filthy mouth cant utter decent language, while狗急跳墙(a dog will jump over the wall if pushed too hard) can be translated by using the word beast (the sup

14、er-ordinate of dog): a cornered beast will do something desperate. Example 2: 文房四宝Since it is culture-specific, there is no equivalent word in English, and we also call it Semantic Zero (词义空缺).Suggested translation: the four treasures of the study(writing brush, ink-stick, inkstone and paper)Example

15、 3: privacy and Speaker An example of an abstract English concept which is difficult to translate into Chinese is that expressed by the word privacy and Speaker (of the House of Commons). Both of them have no ready one-to-one equivalence in Chinese. The word privacy is a very English concept which i

16、s rarely understood by people from other cultures. Speaker (of the House of Commons) has no equivalent in many languages, such as Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. It is often translated into Russian as Chairman, which does not reflect the role of the Speaker of the House of Commons as an independent pe

17、rson who maintains authority and order to Parliament. 3.1.2 One word with multiple equivalents （一词多义）Example 1: man1 man and his wife 丈夫和妻子2 officers and men 官和兵3 his man Friday 他的仆人礼拜五 （鲁宾逊漂流记）4 Be a man! 要像个男子汉！Example 2: sophisticated1 sophisticated man 老于世故的人2 sophisticated woman 狡黠的女子3 sophisti

18、cated columnist 老练的专栏作家4 sophisticated electronic device 高度精密的电子装置5 sophisticated weapon 尖端武器Example 3: 时间到达时间arriving time 工作时间working hours 停留时间duration of stayExample 4: 意识自我意识 self-consciousness 竞争意识 competitive spirit Example 5: 一次性一次性付款 1ump-sum payment 一次性拖鞋 disposable slippersExample 6: 恶性恶性

19、肿瘤 malignant tumor 恶性循环 vicious circle3.1.3 Words without equivalents （无对等词语）The terms express Confucius morality “三纲五常” can not find its correspondent word in English. “三纲” the three cardinal guides: ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife; “五常” the five virtues: benevolence

20、, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and credibility.糖葫芦：Tanghulu, a suger-coated fruit on the stick which is a kind of childrens favourite food in winterTeenager: 13至 19 岁的青少年Commuter: 家住郊区、乘公交车到市内上班的人（上班族）3.1.4 Different association of meaning （联想意义不同）The common characters of cultures have given the

21、 same associated meaning to some words, while the difference between cultures will lead to different association of meanings. For example, fox has been commonly considered as a kind of cunning animals compared with all other animals, which is reflected both in Chinese and English fables. In Chinese,

22、 there are saying like狡猾的狐狸(cunning fox), while in English there are also expressions like as sly as a fox. However, each culture has its specific characters. The differences between cultures in tradition, value, custom, religion, way of thinking and even geology will lead to the same word having di

23、fferent associated meaning in different cultures. For example, the chinese word 月亮 has been given very nice associated meaning in Chinese, such as 团圆，爱情，故乡, while for English people, moon will be associated with inconstancy. inconstant affections; an inconstant lover; swear not by.the inconstant moo

24、n- Shakespeare.变化无常的爱情；反复无常的爱人；不要以反复多变的月亮起誓莎士比亚。Chinese culture has much to do with agriculture, so people like to use ox to describe some phenomena in daily life. For instance, when describing a person who is very strong, Chinese people say身壮如牛(as strong as a bull), while English people say as stro

25、ng as a horse. When describing a person who is very thirsty and is gobbling up water, Chinese people say 像牛饮(drink like an ox), while English people say drink like a fish. 3.1.5 Conflict in connotation (内涵意义/涵义冲突)Connotation is an implied meaning of a word. There is something that appears in both Ch

26、ina and the English countries, but they have different meaning, which causes translation problems, too. In the Chinese sentence 中国是块肥肉，谁都想吃, there is the word 肥肉. It does have an equivalent word in English fat, but they mean differently in the two cultures. It will be very difficult for English-spea

27、king people to understand why we should use the word fat to make this comparison, and in their countries, few people like to eat fat much. In the past, when two Chinese meet with each other, they like to say 你胖了!. This serves as a compliment in China, but for Western people, this serves as a warning

28、 of the necessity of losing weight.In Both English and Chinese, women are referred to as flowers. However, with different collocation, flower can mean very differently in Chinese. Flower in 拈花弄草 and 花街柳巷 refer to town girls or prostitutes.If the word 玉 is used to refer to women, Chinese people assoc

29、iate it with beauty, noble qualities, while English people associate it with dishonour.3.1.6 The use of loan words in the source text （外来词语的使用）The use of loan words in the source text poses a special problem in translation. Quite apart from their respective propositional meaning, loan words are ofte

30、n used for their prestige value, because they can add an air of sophistication to the text or its subject matter. This is often lost in translation because it is not always possible to find a loan word with the same meaning in the target language (Mona Baker). Loan words also pose another problem fo

31、r the unwary translator, namely the problem of false friends (假朋友). False friends are words or expressions which have the same form in two or more languages but convey different meanings. Once a word or expression is borrowed into a language, we cannot predict or control its development or the addit

32、ional meanings it might or might not take on. Some false friends are easy to spot because the difference in their meanings is so great that only a very inexperienced translator is likely to be unaware of it（Mona Baker）. Examples of False friends:密码 password (not secret code)洗牌 to shuffle the playing cards (to wash the playing cards)牛仔裤 jeans (not cowboy trousers)课堂测验 pop-quiz (not classroom exam)流动资金 working capital (not circulating capital)新闻自由 freedom of press